L.A. Kings are in good hands with HOF executive Ken Holland

In July 1997, Holland received a promotion that would change his life. Holland was elevated from longtime scout and assistant general manager to the head job of the then-Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. Holland was tasked with keeping the train on the track after assisting in the building of a roster that delivered Detroit's first Cup since 1955.  

Holland then quickly helped make that drought a distant memory and sparked a modern NHL dynasty. Detroit would repeat as champions in 1998, winning its second consecutive Final in a sweep. 

Looking to keep the dynastic run going, Holland then got aggressive and traded away two first round picks, plus defenseman Anders Eriksson, for Chris Chelios in 1999. 

Then, in the summer of 2001, Holland made bold moves that paid off. He switched out fan-favorite net minder Chris Osgood for six-time Vezina winner Dominik Hasek, who was hungry to drink from Lord Stanley's Cup for the first time. 

Holland also added future Hall of Famers Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille (his current boss with the Kings), believing they still had enough gas left in the tank to help bring another championship to Hockeytown. 

Holland was right, as the Red Wings won the 2002 Stanley Cup, their third championship in six years. 

Fast forward to the NHL implementing a salary cap, and Holland had to prove he could do it without being able to simply outspend his competition. And that's exactly what he did, building a new championship team in 2008. 

Holland found stars like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in the draft and managed to retain enough of Detroit's core of veterans to get the Red Wings to three straight Conference Finals and consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final and capture his fourth ring.  

Eventually, the Red Wings got too old and were forced to start a rebuilding process, one that is still going on today. That eventually led to Holland moving on and handing the baton to Steve Yzerman in 2019. 

Holland would soon take over in Edmonton, slowly putting enough pieces around Connor McDavid to make the Oilers a consistent title contender. Unlike with Detroit, Holland took over an Oilers franchise that had only one postseason in the prior 13 years. 

After stepping away following the Oilers' heartbreaking Game 7 loss in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, Holland knew he could have any job he wanted. Already a consistent playoff team, the Kings could be poised to take that next step under one of the most successful team builders in league history.

All in all, Holland has won with pressure and money in Detroit, won within the rules of the salary cap and even resurrected a floundering franchise in Edmonton. Doing it in Los Angeles is just his latest challenge. 

Get excited, Kings fans. 

Holland didn't take the job to lose.